QUICK NEWS, 4-21: WORLD’S BIGGEST WIND FOR ROMANIA; ARIZONA LAND FOR SUN; GEOTHERMAL FOR ARMY AT FT. BLISS; THE MILITARY MOVES TO NEW ENERGY

WORLD’S BIGGEST WIND FOR ROMANIA
Iberdrola Plans World’s Largest Wind Farm in Romania
Todd White and Jeremy van Loon (w/Joao Lima, Irina Savu, Tina Davis and Charles Siler), April 19, 2010 (Bloomberg News via BusinessWeek)

"Iberdrola SA won approval to build the world’s largest onshore wind-energy project in Romania, requiring at least $2 billion in investment through 2017…[I]t acquired rights from the Romanian government to build 1,500 megawatts of capacity. That’s almost five times the power coming from Europe’s largest wind complex…

"Iberdrola, which became the world’s biggest wind-farm owner by using government incentives and charging above-market electricity rates for clean energy, now operates in 10 markets including the U.S. and U.K. The Romanian mega-park, near its operations in neighboring Hungary, may extend the Spanish company’s lead over second-ranked wind producer FPL Group Inc. of Florida."

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"Romania generates much of its electricity by burning oil and gas, which can be easily scaled back during a windy day to allow for surges of power from windmills…[The Romanian] government may approve a law later this year to double the number of “green certificates” eligible for wind power and boost the total price per megawatt-hour by 25 percent…[The] Iberdrola Renovables SA renewable-energy unit plans 50 Romanian wind parks that would supply the equivalent of almost 1 million homes…The project amounts to a third of the new wind power Iberdrola plans for Eastern Europe, after investing 100 million euros there in 2009…

"The average cost to buy and install wind turbines around the world is about 1.3 million euros ($1.75 million) a megawatt…Using those figures, Iberdrola’s Dobrogea project in southeastern Romania on the Black Sea would cost more than $2 billion…Prices for turbines fell about 18 percent last year and wind farm operators like Iberdrola are benefiting from the lower costs…European Union policies to help reduce dependence on fossil fuel-based power generation are also an incentive for the project…"

A turbine in Romania's Tihuta Pass. (from Wikipedia - click to enlarge)

"Like FPL, Iberdrola has grown to be one of the world’s largest investor-owned utilities partly because of rapid expansion in wind energy. Wind and biomass are typically the cheapest sources of renewable energy and plants using them can be built faster than large-scale solar or geothermal installations…[R]anked by megawatts of wind-energy in operation, [Iberdrola] is followed by… Florida-based FPL and China Guodian Corp. of Beijing…

"The Dobrogea complex will dwarf Whitelee, Europe’s current record-holder, a 322-megawatt wind installation near Glasgow that is owned by Iberdrola’s Scottish Power unit. Whitelee is scheduled to be expanded to about 600 megawatts in a few years…The Cape Wind offshore wind project in Nantucket Sound would have capacity of 420 megawatts…Iberdrola’s Romanian partner is Eolica Dobrogea. That company, part-owned by Swiss engineering firm NEK Umwelttechnik AG and C-Tech Srl. and Rokura Srl., both Romanian, will secure building permits…"


ARIZONA LAND FOR SUN
Pacific Blue Energy Corp. Reviews Solar Farm Plans for New Land Acquisition
April 19, 2010 (PR Newswire)

"When Pacific Blue Energy Corp. acquired 154.3 acres in northern Arizona earlier this month, the company announced that it had targeted the site for a major new solar energy project…[T]he publicly traded developer of renewable energy [has now] further outlined those plans.

"Located 30 miles east of Flagstaff, Arizona, in Coconino County, the former Ship Ahoy site could support as much as 20 MW or megawatts of solar electricity generation - using either a fixed tilt or a single tracking system. A megawatt is equivalent to one million watts of electricity and can power between 180 and 350 homes per year, depending on usage patterns."

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"At an elevation of 5300 feet, the site benefits from cooler, high desert temperatures that can increase the photovoltaic efficiencies of solar panels. Soil tests show that the land is well suited to support the foundations for a solar panel racking system - with minimal costs. For every 5 MW, a solar farm requires roughly 25,000 photovoltaic panels on racks.

"…[T]he site is relatively flat - resulting in unobstructed sunlight -- and it is conveniently located only a half mile from an existing 69 KV transmission line and electrical substation. It may also benefit from a Flagstaff-area 2020 Regional Plan that may help to smooth the entitlement process."

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"In fact, the site had already gone through the permitting process for the development of a renewable energy project - a project that was unanimously approved by local officials. For this project, the company hopes the County Board of Supervisors will again give a green light to the development of renewable energy in northern Arizona."

[Joel Franklin, CEO, Pacific Blue Energy Corp.:] "With each passing day, we feel that we are getting closer and closer to making this solar farm a reality - the first of hopefully many renewable energy projects…From this strong beginning, we hope to become a leading provider of renewable power in Arizona and the U.S."


GEOTHERMAL FOR ARMY AT FT. BLISS
Geothermal Energy Could Power Fort Bliss Growth
Daniel Novick, April 19, 2010 (KFOX14-TV)

"Fort Bliss may soon see the unique type of renewable energy powering parts of the post: geothermal energy."

"…El Paso County and Fort Bliss got a $5 million grant from the federal stimulus bill to research if a geothermal plant, that would be located on McGregor Range is the right way to go."

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[Bob Geyer, geothermal project manager, El Paso County:] "Geothermal is the water underground, and the temperature of that as far as using it as an energy source to turn turbines, and then obviously create electricity…It's a constant source of heat that can be used for this purpose…"

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"Geyer said everyone involved hopes the plant would produce 20 megawatts of power, with almost all of it staying on post…"

[Bob Geyer, geothermal project manager, El Paso County:] "…[From a study] they can tell the geology that is down there, they can do testing to determine the amount of water that is down there [that's] available as a heat source…[and] that the water is hot enough and also that the volume is big enough to pursue…"


THE MILITARY MOVES TO NEW ENERGY
Pew Study: Department of Defense Embracing Clean Energy; Pentagon, Service Agencies Working to Enhance Security, Save Money and Reduce Emissions

"The Department of Defense has initiated ambitious clean energy programs in service of economic, security and environmental goals according to Reenergizing Aerica’s Defense…by the Pew Project on National Security, Energy and Climate. The report describes efforts by the U.S. military – whose usage accounts for nearly 80 percent of the U.S. government’s energy consumption – to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and cut global warming pollution by enhancing energy efficiency and harnessing clean energy technologies…

"United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates has identified energy as one of the department’s top-25 transformational priorities and the armed forces – including the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps – have undertaken specific initiatives to save energy, mitigate climate change and reduce costs. The military is investigating and implementing energy-saving measures in all facets of its operations, both at home and abroad, including housing, vehicles, fuels, weapons, supplies and transmission grids."

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"Overall, the Department of Defense has set a goal of producing or procuring 25 percent of its electric energy needs from renewable sources by 2025…The U.S. Navy is developing a “green” carrier strike group to run completely on alternative fuels by 2016…[and on] April 22, the U.S. Navy will demonstrate the ‘Green Hornet’, an F/A-18 Super Hornet powered by a 50/50 biofuel blend…

"…The U.S. Army is developing a 500-megawatt solar power generation plant in Fort Irwin, California that will help power the base and reduce the base’s vulnerability to power supply disruptions. Named a ‘Net-Zero Plus installation’, the Army hopes to free the base entirely from reliance on the public electric grid within the next decade…The U.S. Marine Corps has launched the 10X10 campaign aimed at reducing energy intensity, water consumption and increasing the use of renewable electric energy…"

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"With an annual energy budget of approximately $20 billion, the Defense Department incurs more than $1.3 billion in additional energy costs for every $10 increase per barrel rise in the world market price of oil…[T]he department’s reliance on fossil fuels also compromises combat effectiveness by restricting mobility, flexibility and endurance on the battlefield. Transportation of fuel to the combat theater is a significant vulnerability as fuel convoys are targets in Iraq and Afghanistan…

"Defense and intelligence experts have found that situations of instability can worsen from the impacts of climate change as water and food supplies decline, storm intensity increases, agricultural patterns are disrupted and migration increases due to conflict or resource shortages. In February 2010, the department’s four year strategic planning document, the Quadrennial Defense Review, for the first time officially recognized climate change as a key issue…It declared 'Climate change… may act as an accelerant of instability or conflict, placing a burden to respond on civilian institutions and militaries around the world.'"